Despite reports suggesting otherwise, Tottenham Hotspur’s £26 million man has little to worry about.
He is not going to be upseated by another big-money arrival from a familiar market. And that will come as a relief to a player who has not featured anywhere near as much as he would have liked since arriving in the Premier League.
At least, with Romania hammering Ukraine 3-0 in their Group E opener on Monday, Radu Dragusin‘s lack of regular minutes in a Tottenham Hotspur shirt are clearly not holding him back too much. Dragusin was outstanding as Edward Iordanescu’s side cruised to a convincing victory, the former Genoa and Juventus man keeping La Liga’s Golden Boot winner Artem Dovbyk on a very short leash throughout.
Florin Manea, the agent who played such a big role in Dragusin’s move from Liguria to North London, fels this was a display which proves his client’s world-class potential.
Radu Dragusin has a big future at Totteham Hotspur
“Dragusin? What can I say? it doesn’t surprise me anymore because I know how he works,” says Manea, the 22-year-old colossus proving why Napoli and Bayern Munich were left so disappointed by his eventual departure to Tottenham.
“If he continues like this he could become one of the best central defenders in the world.”
You can probably say the same of Riccardo Calafiori, after the Bologna ace produced a statement performance of his own during Italy’s 2-1 comeback victory over Albania two days prior.
Calafiori, according to reports, has held talks regarding a £30 million move to Tottenham, Ange Postecoglou‘s side allegedly keen to raid Italian football again after Dragusin, Rodrigo Bentancur, Destiny Udogie, Guglielmo Vicario and Dejan Kulusevski.
This is news to Manea, however. With Dragusin, Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero already at Postecoglou’s disposal, he claims to have been informed that another centre-half is not high on Spurs’ summer wishlist.
“From what I know, Spurs are not looking for a pure central defender,” Manea tells TV Play. “They are looking more for a flexible defender.
“In any case, Dragusin is ready for anything. He is not afraid of competition. I’m not worried because such a strong defender cannot be stopped. His growth cannot be slowed down.
“However, Tottenham have always placed trust in him and in Serie A they have faced very strong attackers. The only one who seriously put him in difficulty was Lautaro (Martinez of Inter Milan), but we’re talking about when Dragusin played for Salernitana.”
Agent plays down £30m Riccardo Calafiori links
Calafiori, his flowing locks and headband combo meaning he would not look out of place in a Panini Euro 2004 sticker book, was a key cog in the Bologna side who qualified for the Champions League for the first time under Thiago Motta last season.
Motta has since departed to replace Massimiliano Allegri at Juventus. And speculation persists suggesting that Calafiori could follow in his former coach’s Turin footsteps.
“(Alessandro) Bastoni and Calafiori gave an excellent performance against Albania,” says Fabio Capello, former Juventus, Roma and England manager speaking to Gazzetta dello Sport. “Also thanks to the precious protection of the midfield and a super (Nicolo) Barella.
“The two central defenders in pairs are an added value because they are courageous and pass forward as soon as they can. Calafiori reminds me of a young Sergio Ramos, who I coached at Madrid in 2006/07 and who was also transformed from full-back to a central defender.”
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